What is it about?
The first full length account of the development of the cotton industry in Scotland, from the early days of industrialisation to the First World War. It examines the growth of water powered cotton spinning mills, from their Scottish heartland in Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire, to spread to places further afield, like Perth, Aberdeen and the most northerly cotton mill in Britain,, Spinningdale in Sutherland. The book examines the development of handloom weaving, and its slow replacement by the steam powered loom. The finishing processes are also discussed. including bleaching, where major advances were made in Scotland, and processes such as Turkey Red dyeing, where the Vale of Leven in Dunbartonshire was a major centre of production.
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Why is it important?
This is the first full length treatment of the development of the Scottish cotton industry , which was described at the time as the 'secret spring' that launched industrialisation in Scotland. The Scottish industry was heavily export-orientated, and Scottish cotton merchants developed expertise in overseas shipping, credit and marine insurance, which proved invaluable in the second phase of industrialisation in Scotland, based on coal, iron and steel, shipbuilding and heavy engineering. Indeed, may of the Scottish cotton masters began to diversify their investments out of cotton manufacture into more profitable areas, such as iron and steel, railways, and heavy engineering.
Perspectives
I moved north to Scotland, in the late 1960s, from industrial Lancashire, where the cotton industry was in steady decline. I was intrigued by the links between the industry in Lancashire and Scotland, in areas such as technology transfer, and the movement of skilled labour and capital. These links were embodied by the activities of Sir Richard Arkwright, (1732-1793) , who, when his patent application for the spinning frame was turned down by the English courts, swore he would find, ' a razor to shave Manchester' in Scotland. These links continued well into the twentieth century, through the movement of personnel and capital investment.
Mr ANTHONY JOHN COOKE
University of Dundee
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The Rise and Fall of the Scottish Cotton Industry, 1778–1914. ‘The Secret Spring’. By Anthony Cooke. Pp. 256. ISBN: 9780719080821 (hbk). Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2010. £60.00., Northern Scotland, May 2012, Edinburgh University Press,
DOI: 10.3366/nor.2012.0038.
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